Switch or cut-out for electric circuits



BEST AVAILABLE COP (M deL) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

J. J. WOOD.

SWITCH OR CUT-OUT FOR ELECTRIC CIRCUITS.

Patented June 5, 1888.

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- BEST AVAiLABLE'COP' (M odeL) 2 SheetsSheet 2. J. J. WOOD. SWITCH OR OUT-OUT FOR ELECTRIC CIRCUITS. No. 383,933. Patented June 5, 1888.

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WITNESSES:

ATTOR BY.

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ing circuits to put BEST AVAILABLE COP UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES J. woon, or BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

SWITCH OR CUT- -OUT FOR ELECTRIC CIRCUITS.

BPECIPICA'I'ION forming part of Letters Patent No. 383,933, dated June 5, 1888.

Application filed May J3, 1867. Serial No. 239,041. (Modem To all whom, it 72mg concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES J. W'OOD, of Brooklyn, Kings county, New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Switches or Out-Outs for Electric Circuits, of which the following is a specification.

My invention applies to the hand-switches or cutouts used in are or incandescent lightthe lines or loop in the of circuit with the exterstreet circuit leading to thecentral building into or out nal line or station.

My invention aims to provide a cut-out of this class, which when manipulated will produce an instantaneous make or break between the contacts, so as to reduce flashing or sparking to the minimum and-render the cut-out action absolute, and which will also hold the contacts firmly locked in either of the positions in which they may be set, and at the same time embody a simple and durable eon-.

structiou. To this end I construct the cut-out with\a movable coutact-makingslide or crosshead, which plays between the terminals of the line and the loop and carries contact tongues or brushes which will junction with tongues or brushes on the termiuals of the line or loop, according as the slide is shifted one way or the other. is connected with the a slide by interposed springs, so that when the rod is pushed in or pulled out one or other of the springs will be compressed against the slide, tending to shift it over; but a spring-latch acts to hold the slide in place until the rod is pushed far enough to compress the spring fully, when a projection on the rod trips the latch and allows the compressed spring to throw the slide over quickly, and thus instantly make contact on one side while breaking it on the other Side. When the slideis thus shifted, asecond springlatch drops into engagement to hold the slide in said position until it is released and shifted in the same manner, when desired, by the opposite movemer, of the boltrod. My invention therefore li mainly, in the construction above outlined, 5, =hereinafter fully set forth and claimed.

In the drawings annexed, Figure 1 gives a front elevation of myimproved cut-out switch for arc circuits, with the case shown in section. Fig. 2 is a ertioal section on :v m, and

An operating bolt or rod Fig. 3 a section on o 0. Fig. 4 is a fragment ary front view of the covered case of the cutout. Fig. 5 is a plan view of one of the con tact-springs of the movable slide. Figs. 6, 7, 8, and 9 are views,- similar to Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 4, illustrating a slight modificatioaof my invention adapted for incandescent elrcnlts.

Referring to Figs. 1, 2, and 3, a indicates a wooden case or box which sustains and 1:1- closes the-various parts of the cut-out, and on the base ofwhich are fixed the two pairs of -binding-posts b b c c, in which the wires of the external line and the houseloop are received.

-The upper binding-posts, b 6, receive the ends of the main-line wire d, while the lower posts,

c a, receive the ends of the house-loop c, as well shown in Fig. 1. Now, from both pans of binding-poststhere project contact-tongues f g, the tongues f of the line-posts?) being much longer than the contacts gof the loop-posts a, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3, and between the binding-posts is arranged a shifting shde or cross-head, h, which carries the contact springs or brushes to meet with said contacts on the posts. This slide consists of a non-conducting cross-bar, h, at each end of which is fixed the Y-shaped contact pieces or springs i, (shown detached in Fig. 5,) while the middle is fixed to a clasp, j, which is mounted on a sliding bolt or rod, p, which is arranged centrally and longitudinally and is supported near each end in the bearings k, fixed to the base of the case. The lower end of the rod protrudes from the case, and is curved into a loop or eye for manipulation. Between the bearings k and the clasp j the rod 1) is encircled by springsl l, which hear at their inner ends against the clasp j and at their outer ends against washers or collars, which rest against pins or stops m on the rod.

Referring to'Figs. 1 and 2,11 indicates a bowshaped spring, which serves as a spring catch or latch to hold the'slide,and which is attached at the middle to the middle of the cross-bar it, while its outwardlyturned ends will overlie either of the bearings it when the slide is at either end-of its stroke,so that a hole or notch, n, in the spring will engage with a projection, k',on the bearing, as well shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and thus hold the slide at either end of the stroke. It may now be seen by referring to Figs. 1 and 3 that when the slide is shifted totongues f on the posts b, while the shorter prongs will contact with the ends of a short bridge or conducting piece, 1", which is fixed to the base between the binding-posts b, with its ends bent to meet with the short prongs of the springs i,as shown in Figs. 1 and 3. Hence when the parts are in the position shown in Fig. l the line or street circuit will be closed between the posts b I) through the springs i t and thebridge-piece r, as shown by the arrowsin Fig. 1, while the house-loop 6 will be disconnected from the line and broken at the separated contacts g g i 75. When, however, it is desired to connect the house-loop with the line, the rod 1; is pulled downward, which will therefore compress the upper spring 1 against the clasp j on the cross-bar h, thus tending to shift theislide toward the lower posts, a. The slide, however, will remain stationary until the spring vis almost.fully compressed, when a collar, 8, on the end of the rod will contact with the curved end of the spring-catch n,and thus lift it out'of engagement with the projection 10', which will at once release the slide and allow the compressed spring to forcibly and instantaneouslyshift the slide toward the lower bind-ing-posts and thus bring the lower ends of the Y-shaped springs against the contacts g on the posts a, and thus put the loop in circuitwith the line. As the Y-shaped springs make contact with the lower contacts, 9, the

short prongs of the springs i will break contact with the bridge-piece 1', thus breaking the circuit between the posts b I) only after the cireuit'isclosed between the posts a 0, so that the loop will beput on the line without at any time breaking the circuit of the line. The contact-tongues f, extending from the upper posts I), are much longer than the contacttongues g on the lower posts,so that the springs 6 always keep in contact with the tongues f, whether the slide is shifted up or down, the contact being broken only between the bridge 0' and the springs i; but the length of the tongue is such that the contact will always be made between one set beforeit is broken at the other, so as to never interrupt the main line in operating the switch,as will be readily understood. It may therefore be understood that when the slide is shifted downward,as described, that the release of the spring-catch and the instantaneous shifting "action of the compressed spring will eause the contact to be made and broken so quickly as to prevent any appreciable flashing or sparking, and thus render the action positive, safe, and certain. When the slideis thus'shifted, the lower end of the springcatch will engage with the projection is on the lower bearing is and thus lock the slide in said position and prevent any accidental disengagement. On the other hand, when it is desired to .cut the loop out of circuit the rod 65 p is pressed upward, which will compress the lower spring Z against the slide, and finally bring the lower collar 8 against the end of the BESTAVAILABLE COP .spri ng-catch a, so as to dise'n gage the same and thus release the slide, which will now be forcibly shifted in the opposite direction by the expansion of the compressed spring, which will thus cause the springs i to make contact with the bridge-piece 9' before they break contact with the tongues g, and thus close the line between the posts 1) before it breaks the circuit at the contacts or terminalsg of the loop. The slide being thus shifted will be locked in place, as before, by the spring-catch engaging the upper projeclion, k, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. v

, I prefer to make the contact-springs i i in two layers, as seen in Fig. 3, between which the contact-tongues f or y will be received and embraced, as will be readily comprehended.

An indicating-plate, t, is attached to the middle of the insulating cross-bark and contains the words on and off, as seen in Fig. 4, which will appear before a reading opening or window, t, in the lid to of the case when the slide is shifted in one direction or the other to indicate the condition of the cut-out, as will be understood from Figs. 3 and 4. This lid is preferably a removable slide, which may he slid ofI" when desired to examine or adjust the contents of the case.

In Figs. 6, 7, and 8 the cut-outis of substantially the same construction already described, but is adapted for incandescent lines, using currents of high potential, such as the Edison municipal system. -In this modification the operative parts of the cut-out are not mounted directly on the baseof the wooden case a, but on a base-plate, u, of slate or other tire-proof and non-shrinking material, so as to resist all flashing from the contacts, and also prevent the possibility of relative displacement or derangement of parts by warping or shrinking, which would occur with a base subject to warp or shrink. In this modification the contact-bridge 0' between the line-posts is entirely dispensed with, and the contactsprings i are made simply as long straight springs, which always keep in contact with the tongues ff on the posts I) b, as before, and make or break contact with the tongues g on the loop-posts c 0, according as the slide is shifted up or down, as will be understood. The movement of the slide is, however, made much greater than in the former case, so as to produce a much wider break with the loop contacts 9, as shown in Figs. 6 and 8, so as to prevent the possibility of a flash or are continuing across the break when the slide is shifted to cut the loop off the line, and at the same time leave the line open.

Instead of having two springs Z on the boltrod 1), on each side of the tsp j, as seen in Figs. 1 and 2, I use one spr 5 Z at the middle of the rod, which abuts at each end against loose tubes or sleeves v 'v on each end of the rod. The clasp j, fixed to the middle of the insulating cross-bar h is made much wider, so as to embrace the spring b itween its ends and engage at each end the Hat 'Zes on the ends of ITC the said tubes 1;. The spring-catch n and the engaging projections It" and the releasing-collars s are the same as before described. It will he therefore seen that in this case, when the bolt rod is pulled out, referring to Figs. 6 and 7, the upper collar 5 will press against the tube 0 and compress the spring Z against the opposite tube, thereby tending to shift the slide, which will take place instantaneously when the spring is fully compressed and when the collar strikes against and releases the end of the spring-catch n, in the same manner as before described. The operation to reverse or shift the slide in the opposite direction will be obvious, and therefore needs no description.

It can be readily understood that the arrangement of spring and clasp with the sleeves o 12 shown in Fig. 7 may be used in either the are or incandescent switch instead of the arrangement of springs, &c., shown in Fig. 2. It may now be seen that my improved cut-out not only produces a sudden and instantaneous make and break of the contacts bythe action of a suddenly-released spring, and thus insures safe and quick switching with the least possible flash or spark, but, besides this, the contact-maker is automatically locked securely in place when shifted to either position,which is a feature novel to my cut-out-that is, in my cutout the contact-maker has a latch which locks it in either of its positions,while the manipulating device of the contact-maker cornpresses a spring against the contact-maker during the first part of its moven'ient, while the terminal part of its movement acts to release said latch and allow the spring to'shift the contact-maker, which is again locked by the second engagement of thelatcl1,w11ieh construction is original with my device.

Another great advantage of my device is that at the moment of the reversal of the contact-maker the spring is then at its fullest tension and acts with its greatest power to move the slide instantaneously and forcibly,whereas the force of the spring declines at the end of its stroke and loses its tension when the slide is locked and at rest; hence this prevents battering of the stops or abntincnls of the slide and also prevents the spring becoming set, which is not the case where the contact-maker is moved by a spring swinging over a crankcenter, in which case the power of the spring to shift the contact-maker is least at the moment of reversal and greatest at the end of the stroke.

I do not limit myself to any special form of spring between the manipulating device and the contact-maker, whether spiral, coiled, or flat, or whether it acts by expansion, contraction, torsion, or otherwise; but

ST AVAILABLE eop- 3 a movable bolt or rod for shifting said con-.

tact-maker, a spring interposed between the shifting-rod and contact-maker, and a latch or catch arranged to hold the contactmaker in either of its positions, with a trip or trips connected with-and operated by the rod and arranged to release said catch or latch when the rod is at the end of its stroke and the spring strained, whereby the contact-maker 1s suddenl y released and shifted instantaneously and again held by the latch, snbstantiall y as here in set forth.

3. In an electrical switch or cut out, the combination of the movable contact-maker carrying the movable contacts, a clasp, j, attached to said contact-maker, and a rod, 19, passing through said clasp, with the flanged sleeves o v, fitting on said rod and abutting against said clasp, a spring, Z, encircling sa d rod and abutting at each end against said sleeves, fixed stops or collars s on said rod, and a spring catch or latch, n, with engagingpoints k, arranged and operating substantially as shown and described.

4. In an electrical switch or cut-out, the combination of the terminals 6 b and c c, with contact-tongues fg, and the fixed eonducting-bridge r, with the movable non-conducting cross-bar h, and Y-shaped contactsprings i, fixed thereon, arranged and operating substantially as shown and described.

5. In an electricalswitch or cut-out, the combination, with the fixed contacts, of the movable contact-maker, such as h, carrying the movable contacts, such as i, a manipula ble rod, 19, a spring, Z, interposed between the rod and the contact-maker, bearings k k, in which'the rod slides aspring-latch, a, attached to said contact-maker, having recesses n and engaging projections k, with trip-stops s on said rod,substantially as shown and described.

JAMES J. WOOD.

Witnesses:

CHAS. M. HIGGINS, JNO. E. GAVIN. 

